Report: Sean Miller Targeted for Xavier and South Carolina Openings

Former Arizona coach Sean Miller, who was fired from the school last spring following a lingering NCAA investigation into the basketball program, is currently a strong candidate for the Xavier and South Carolina coaching vacancies, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.

If Miller chooses Xavier, it would be his second stint with the program.

He began his head coaching career with the Musketeers, and was with the school for five seasons from 2004 to ’09, leading the program to a 120–47 record. Miller took Xavier to four NCAA tournaments in five years, which included an Elite Eight trip in 2007 and a Sweet 16 appearance in 2008.

Miller later reached the Elite Eight two additional times with Arizona, finishing his career with the Wildcats with a 302–109 record. In total, Miller has won 73% of his games and has tallied 422 career victories as a head coach.

Xavier is in the market for a new leader for its basketball program following the firing of Travis Steele last week. Steele replaced Chris Mack at Xavier following his departure for the Louisville job in 2018. Steele did not make an NCAA tournament in his four seasons with the Musketeers.

As for South Carolina, the Gamecocks are searching for their first new coach in 10 seasons after parting ways with Frank Martin last week. Martin only made one NCAA tournament appearance in his 10 years with the school, when the Gamecocks made an improbable Final Four run in 2016. 

Martin finished with a 171–147 record with South Carolina, but was largely unable to replicate the success that he had in his five years at Kansas State, where he took the Wildcats to four NCAA tournaments.